Used the trade names Aceedeecee
and ACDC, they made
dolls of composition and later hard plastic and vinyl. Also later
(1961) the name American Doll & Toy Company was sometimes used.
In 1923 "Petite" was the trademark
and name used on their early mama and character dolls. Best known for the 1928 composition dolls; Campbell
Kids, Puggy and Sally dolls, later noted dolls were the Tiny Tears and Betsy McCall dolls.
American Character dolls were well made and
had good quality costumes. American Character went out of business in
1968, doll molds were sold to Ideal; Tiny Tears, Tressy and the grow
hair feature was used in Ideal's Crissy & family dolls.
American Character Dolls For Sale - use the search ebay box to type a specific doll name, this is a category site wide ebay
search, so be sure to include your search term plus Doll or anything you
may want to purchase.
Good luck we hope you find the doll of your dreams.
Some antique to vintage American Character dolls that may help identify your
doll
1922-1930s
American Character Mama dolls or Petite Babiesdolls, 12, 16, 17,
20, 22, 24" tall, composition and cloth body molded hair or wigged, with sleep eyes, open or closed mouth, marked: Amer. Char Doll Co, Petite, American Character, AC or Wonder Baby.
The 1922 12" size Baby Petite Mama doll, might have a voice box
inside the head.
1930 Petite Mama
doll, 24"
1925 American Character Baby Petite, 11-15" tall, Bye Lo or Tynie Baby look a like,
composition flange head, lightly molded painted hair, painted or sleep eyes,
closed mouth, composition arms and straight lower legs, cloth stuffed body and upper
legs. Doll mark Baby Petite.
1925 Baby Petite doll, 11-15"
1925 American Character Teenie Weenie doll, 11" tall, Bye Lo or Tynie Baby look a like,
composition flange head and lower arms, cloth stuffed body, upper arms and
legs, composition head with lightly molded hair, sleep eyes, closed mouth.
Doll mark Teenie Weenie.
Baby Petite and Teenie Weenie dolls are same head molds
with slightly different bodies, however with the name clearly marked on the
neck, makes it easy to know the difference between them.
1925 Teenie Weenie doll, 11"
1926
American Character Bottletot doll,
14" tall, Composition shoulder head, composition arms (her right hand is posed
to hold a bottle) and cloth body with jointed cloth legs, blue tin sleep eyes,
painted upper and lower lashes, painted molded hair, and an open mouth Marked
on back: Petite, America's Wonder Baby Dolls, tagged romper, marked: BOTTLETOT, Reg US Pat
Off, A Petite Doll. There are also dolls named Happy Tot
doll, Marvel Tot doll and Toddle Tot doll - note, not all of these dolls have the right hand for holding a bottle.
1920s Bottletot doll, 14"
1927
American Character Happy Tot doll, 13-20" tall, composition shoulder head to below under arms, composition arms and straight legs or all cloth bent legs or partial composition lower legs cloth upper bent legs, cloth body, molded painted blonde hair, tin blue sleep eyes, open smiling mouth but no teeth. Marked on back shoulder plate; Petite, American Character Doll. This head mold was also used for the Aviation Kid doll below.
1927 Happy Tot doll, 20"
1927
American Character Lucky Aviation Kid doll, 14" tall, Charles Lindbergh, see above right photo, uses the Happy Tot head mold, composition shoulder head to below under arms, composition arms and legs, cloth body, molded painted blonde hair, tin blue sleep eyes, open smiling mouth but no teeth, wears a brown aviator suit and flight cap, small red, white and blue "Spirit of St. Louis" model plane ribbon, white socks and brown shoes. Marked on back shoulder plate; Petite, American Character Doll.
see above face photo
1927 Lucky Aviation Kid doll, 14" Charles Lindbergh
doll
1928
American Character Campbell Kid doll,12" tall, all composition, molded short painted hair, painted side glancing eyes, designed by Grace G. Drayton, sometimes called Dolly Dingle after the paper dolls also designed by Grace Gebbie Wiederseim Drayton. E. I Horsman was also making the Campbell Kids dolls from 1910-1948. Marked: A Petite Doll.
Photo is courtesy of Jane.
1929 Campbell Kid doll, Girl 12"
1928
American Character Puggy doll, 12" tall, all composition, has a frowning face, smaller eyes and shorter molded hair than the others in the line, this is the boy doll in the Campbell Kids line, marked: A Petite Doll or Puggy.
Photo on right is courtesy of Chris.
1928 Puggy doll, 12"
1930s
American Character Smiling Sally doll, 15" tall,all composition, wigged, sleep eyes, original clothing & tag. Unsure how
doll is marked possibly Petite Sally.
1930s Smiling Sally doll, 15"
1930
American Character Sally doll, 12 or 16" tall, all composition, molded hair with painted eyes or wigged with sleep eyes, some are unmarked others may be marked Petite or Sally a Petite Doll.
1930 Sally doll, 16"
1930
American Character Sally Joy doll, 18-24" tall, composition with cloth body, brown sleep eyes, slight open smiling mouth, wigged, came with an extensive wardrobe. Marked: 18" - Petite Sally or 24" - Petite Amer. Character Doll Co.
Photo courtesy of Flozdolz.
1930 Sally Joy doll, 18"
1935
American Character Carol Ann Beery doll, 13 1/2 or 16" tall, (used the Sally head mold), all composition, had a braid that wrapped around the back crown of the head, was based on the child actress of the same name. Marked: Petite Sally.
1935 Carol Ann Berry doll, 13 1/2"
1936-1938 American Character Sally Jane doll or Paratex Girl doll, 15, 17, 19 & 22" tall,
a Shirley Temple look-a-like, all paratex rubber and composition jointed body, human hair wig
in braided pigtails, hazel sleep eyes, open smiling mouth with six upper teeth, dimples, wore an organdy dress. Doll is unmarked. Note: Not entirely certain that this is the
AC Sally Jane doll, however the doll is made of the all paratex rubber and composition body.
Photo courtesy of Nativelady
1936 Sally Jane doll, 15"
1942-1947
American Character Little Love doll, 15", 18" tall, Bye-Lo
Baby or Tynie Baby look a like, composition flange head and hands, cloth body,
cloth arms, cloth straight legs with tailored heels, molded painted brown hair, blue sleep eyes, crier. Marked on head: Am Char. Doll
1942 Little Love doll, 15"
1947 American Character Pre Sweet Sue doll, 17-18" all composition
jointed doll, wigged, sleep eyes, real upper eyelashes, painted lower
lashes, closed mouth, a Kathryn Grayson, Actress and Opera
Singer,autographed doll was made from
this American Character doll mold, dolls are unmarked.
See the full sized photo of the Pre Sweet
Sue doll at the top of this page.
1947 American Character Pre Sweet Sue doll,
17-18"
1950-1955
American Character Tiny Tears doll, 11 1/2, 13 1/2, 16 or 20" tall, drink wet baby doll, rubber body with hard plastic head, molded painted hair or with a caracul wig. Marked: American Character Doll Pat.
1956-1958 Tiny Tears (same sizes as above), now has saran rooted hair on a skull cap. The 13 1/2" size also came as a black Tiny Tears doll.
1959-1961 Tiny Tears (same sizes as above), has a hard plastic head with a soft vinyl body molded hair with a saran rooted skull cap.
1962-1968 17, 20 or 21" tall, all vinyl body with accessories. Marked: Am. Char., American Character and sometimes with the patent
2675644.
There were also 12" Teeny Tiny Tears dolls,
9" Teenie Weenie Tiny Tears dolls.
Ideal purchased the rights to Tiny Tears in 1968, they licensed the tears feature for their Betsy Wetsy doll.
Ideal reintroduced the Tiny Tears doll in 1982-1985 in both vinyl and bisque versions.
Regal of Canada also made a version of
the Tiny Tears doll.
1950 Tiny Tears doll, 20"
with caracul wig
1951-1961
American Character Sweet Sue doll, 14, 15, 18-21, 24 and 31" tall, pre-teen type,
all hard plastic doll, some were head turning walkers, most fully jointed some included bendable knees, flex ankles and elbows. Both Sweet Sue and Toni are often found in beautiful gowns of silk, satin or chiffon, were also featured as bride dolls, and there was a Groom version with a lambs wool wig dressed in a Tuxedo. Marked: American Character Doll, Am. Char. Doll, Amer Char., A.C. or all sizes can be unmarked,
as many are.
1952 Alice In Wonderland doll, 18" tall, Sweet Sue in a blue dress with white pinafore.
1954 Annie Oakley
doll, 15-25" tall, Sweet Sue in a Annie Oakley outfit of green denim culottes, matching bolero, satin blouse and scarf, felt hat, holster with two guns, cowboy boots.
1955-1956 Life Size Sweet Sue
doll, 24 and 31" tall.
1952
American Character I Love Lucy Lucille Ball doll, 28" tall,
cloth doll with a hard plastic painted face, red bangs showing beneath her kerchief, big blue eyes, wearing her red and white striped blouse,
an apron with "I Love Lucy" printed on it, with two heart shaped pockets and red peddle pusher pant,
shown missing her head scarf.
1952 Lucille Ball doll, 28"
Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Ricky Jr. baby doll ad, 1953 photo on left.
1952
American Character I Love Lucy Baby doll, 14, 16" tall, hard plastic head and rubber body, drink wet baby doll, unmarked. Wore a long pink bathrobe, bonnet
and panties.
1953
American Character Ricky doll, 21" tall, all vinyl doll with molded hair and sleep eyes. Wore a yellow sun outfit with name embroidery on waist.
1954 Ricky
doll, 17, 21" tall, all vinyl with rooted hair, wore shorts with suspenders in a hen print, white shirt with name embroidered and sandals.
1955 Ricky
doll, 13, 17" tall, all vinyl with bendable legs that have wires, molded hair, sleep eyes. Wore corduroy pants with name embroidered on front
and a striped shirt.
1955-56 Ricky Arnaz Jr.
doll, 12 tall, all vinyl, straight legs, drink wet baby doll, wore white corduroy pants with name embroidery on front. All dolls except the first are marked on head: AMER. CHAR. DOLL.
1953 Ricky doll, 21"
1954 Ricky doll, 21"
Photo courtesy of Robin of Vintagelane.com
1952-1955
American Character Chuckles doll, 18-19, 22 or 26" tall, here you can see the molded head on left with the oilcloth stuffed body shown on right with rooted hair, vinyl head and partial vinyl limbs, open smiling mouth with upper teeth, sleep eyes, molded painted hair (as shown on left) or with a saran wig glued over the molded hair or had rooted hair (shown below). Marked: Amer Char. Doll.
Photo on right is courtesy of Vintageonlyplease.
1952-1955 Chuckles doll, 18"
1952-1961
American Character Chuckles doll, several sizes, oilcloth baby bodies, vinyl head and partial limbs, open smiling mouth with upper teeth, sleep eyes, molded painted hair or with a saran wig glued over the molded hair or had rooted hair (shown on right). Marked: Amer Char. Doll. American Character used the Chuckles name on several dolls, the earliest was an all composition doll in the 1930s.
1953 Chuckles doll, 19"
1953
American Character Toodles doll, 14, 21, 23, 25 or 30" tall, hard
plastic multi-jointed body including the elbows and knees, rooted (vinyl
head) or molded hair, sleep eyes, open mouth, the older toddler doll has teeth
with an open mouth. Toodles can kneel, sit, play and assume 1,000 different positions. Some rare early dolls are marked Toodles, others were marked: AM, Amer 9, American Char. or unmarked.
1956 Toodles,
18 1/2" tall, hard rubber baby doll.
1958 Toodles, 24 or 30" tall,
toddler doll, vinyl and hard plastic, chubby multi jointed toddler body, rooted hair, sleep eyes, open mouth with nurser hole.
1958 Toodles doll, 21" tall
1954
American Character Jimmy John doll, 18" tall, magic skin body and limbs, vinyl head with deeply molded painted hair with bangs, blue sleep eyes, makes a cooing noise when the tummy is pressed, doll is unmarked.
1954 Jimmy John doll, 18"
1957
American Character Baby Sue doll, 17 or 23" tall, (there were four different faces used for this doll, one was hard plastic
and the others were made of vinyl), all vinyl one piece baby body, vinyl head with rooted hair, legs have a wire so they can be posed, blue sleep eyes with real lashes, open mouth, wore a white nylon dress with pink & blue embroidery, bonnet, slip, panties, socks and white oilcloth shoes. Marked on head: Amer Char.
1957 Baby Sue doll, 17"
1958
American Character Toni doll, 10 1/2" and 20" tall, fashion doll, high heel feet. Like her associate Sweet Sue, these dolls came in beautiful 1950s style outfits. The Toni in the black taffeta jumper with embroidered white nylon blouse is called Cha Cha #A97 or High Society in 1960.
1958 Toni doll, 10 1/2"
1957-1959
American Character Betsy McCall doll, 8, 14, 20, 22, 30, 36" tall, or her cousin Sandy McCall, 39" tall, all hard plastic and vinyl, socket head, rooted hair (39" tall Sandy McCall has molded hair), sleep eyes with lashes, closed mouth, marked: McCall Corp in a circle, McCall 1958 or unmarked.
1958-1959
American Character Eloise doll, 21" tall, all cloth doll, yarn hair, painted cloth face with smirking, one side upturned mouth, cartoon character who lived at the Plaza Hotel, NYC.
1958 Eloise Doll, 21"
1960
American Character Whimsies dolls, character dolls, 22" tall, one piece vinyl body, rooted hair, very large eyes, marked: Whimsies 1960 American Doll & Toy.
Whimsies doll names are; Bashful Bride, Dixie the Pixie, Fanny
(Angel), Hedda Get Bedda (multi-face doll, with three faces),
Hilda the Hillbilly, Lena the Cleaner, Miss Take, Monk, Polly the Lady Raggie, Simon, Strong Man, Suzie the Snoozie, Tillie the Talker, Wheeler Dealer, Zack the Sack, Zero the Hero
(football player).
1960 Suzie the Snoozie doll, 22"
1961
American Character Butterball doll, 19 or 23" tall,soft vinyl Magi-form body, vinyl head and limbs, rooted blonde hair, blue sleep eyes,has a slight protruding lower lip, came in several different outfits, there was also a 14" girl doll named "Butterball" in 1965. Marked: American Doll & Toy Co. 1961.
1961
American Character Toodle-Loo doll, 17-18" tall, magic foam vinyl body, fully jointed, with rooted hair.
1961 Toodle-Loo doll, 18"
1962-1964
American Character Little Miss Echo doll, 30" tall, hard plastic jointed body and vinyl head with rooted hair, blue sleep eyes, talker doll with battery operated tape recorder. She is shown mint in her box with wrist tag and original clothes; white chiffon party dress with velvet bodice and lace trimmed short sleeves and neckline, white socks and black mary jane shoes. She also came wearing a pink and white dress. Marked on neck: 19, on the battery lid is: Pat. Pend. and if you open the lid inside is: 1 A 1 93 0405. Note; We found one reference book that seems to indicate this dolls name was Talking Marie, but believe that is an error as we have found no such named American Character doll.
1962-1964 Little Miss Echo doll, 30"
14 NOV 2011 NOTE:
there is some question pertaining to this doll reference entry, until we
can look into this further please treat the information with caution.
Thank you and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
1963-1965 American
Character Sally Says doll, 18-19" tall, 1st version, plastic and vinyl toddler doll who is a battery
operated talker, short rooted curly hair, sleep eyes, watermelon mouth and
splayed fingers, came wearing a white cotton under dress with short sleeves and
a plaid jumper, white socks and black shoes.
1963
American Character Baby Says doll, 17" tall, uses the Sally Says and Baby Babbles face mold, but also reminds
us of the Butterball face too, spoke eleven different phrases, battery operated. Came in three different outfits; checked dress, organdy party dress or a polka dot dress. Doll shown is not in her original clothing.
1963 Baby Says doll, 17"
1963
American Character Baby Babbles doll, 23" tall, very similar to the Baby says doll, but has a stuffed cloth foam body with vinyl head and limbs, has a foam covered voice box that says phrases. Marked on head; Amer. Doll & Toy Corp.
1963 Baby Babble doll, 23"
1963
American Character Pre-Teen grow hair doll, 14" tall, all vinyl with jointed body, vinyl head with rooted hair, a button on dolls tummy allows the dolls hair to grow or retract, was only made in 1963, then was discontinued for the high heeled fashion doll Tressy.
1963 Pre-Teen grow hair doll, 14"
1963-1967
American Character Tressy doll, 11 1/2" tall, high heeled teen fashion doll, plastic jointed body, vinyl head with rooted hair, painted facial features.
1964
American Character Magic Make-up Tressy, Black Magic Make Up Tressy and Mary Make-up dolls, Mary is Tressy's friend and does not have grow hair, all are 11 1/2" tall.
1963
American Character Popi doll,
about 11" tall, the pop apart fashion model doll that came with three separate
wigs and a cut and drape non sew dress, doll pops apart in three separate
pieces, has molded red or orangish
hair, white painted on swimsuit, white high heel open toe shoes, additional doll fashion kits (non sew) to make
clothes for Popi were available separately.
1966American Character Snip n' Tuck doll, is a mannequin Popi doll in a frame, with fabric and accessories for children to design and make their own
non sew clothing.
1966
American Character Tiny Whimsies dolls, 7 1/2" tall; Lites Out with nightgown,
I'm Yours a Bride, Fly with Me a witch, Swing It a dancer,
Love Me in red pantsuit and I'm Hooked a groom doll, to go with the bride.
1966
American Character Cartwright Family dolls, 8" tall, Ben, Hoss, Little Joe.
The Adam doll was used as the model for the outlaw figure (as his character had now left the show) from the TV show Bonanza, solid vinyl, jointed body, molded clothes, marked: C American Character.
1966 Ben and Hoss Cartwright dolls. 8"
Additional American Character dolls not shown
1921
American Character Baby's Joy doll, Baby's Pal doll, Baby's Playmate doll, sizes unknown, composition and cloth dolls.
1931-1937 American Character Toodles doll,
18" tall, composition head with molded painted blond hair, green sleep eyes with
special mechanism so the eyes only sleep when doll is lying down with head
turned left, flex-o-flesh body with metal steel frame support, open mouth with
tongue but no teeth, rubber bent arms and rubber bent baby legs. Doll is
marked on head Petite, doll marked on body with a horseshoe symbol
Petite, Pat. Pend.
1937-1949
American Character Toodles doll, 17" tall, made of life like rubber composition paratex head and limbs, cloth stuffed body, mama crier and a drink wet doll with a rubber tube inside the body or all paratex. Has molded
painted brown hair, sleep eyes, open mouth with no teeth showing, wore a sheer baby gown and had a glass
baby bottle with nipple. Doll is unmarked. American Character named several dolls Toodles over the years.
1958
American Character Pretty Baby doll, size unknown, vinyl jointed body, vinyl head with short rooted hair, sleep eyes, wore a pink or white dress with a white sweater and a bonnet.